Dairy and cheese productions are intimately linked to the history of Asturias. In the absence of previous testimonies, Afuega'lPitu cheese has appeared in written documentation since the 18th century as a tax payment currency, although until the 19th century, it was also called called ‘queso de puñu’ or ‘fist’ cheese. Félix Aranburu y Zuloaga describes it at the end of the same century as the "primitive fist cheese or Afuega’l Pitu that is common in almost all the areas of Asturias". On similar dates, the work ‘Asturias’ written by Octavio Bellmunt and Fermín Canella insists on the extension of these cheeses, naming them as "the most common ones everywhere, called Afuega’lPitu or with other names".

In the riverside regions of Narcea and Nalón, where it is most abundant, the name Afuega'lPitu is given to a set of cheeses with quite diverse characteristics and peculiarities of shape, in ripening times and flavours. In general, two fundamental varieties of Afuega'lPitu could be pointed out in this area, defined by the type of curd (first phase of cheese making) and the ripening time of each of them.

A first variety would be composed by the cheeses obtained from an acidic or spontaneous curd; a type of curd obtained by accentuating the natural fermentation of milk by means of heat. The second group of cheeses would be those made from freshly milked milk kept on hold for a certain time until acid coagulation begins, and then adding a small amount of rennets (substances extracted from the stomach-curds of ruminants).

Depending on the type of curd, two different containers were used to make the cheese, a gauze or cloth and a perforated clay vessel called ‘barreña’ or ‘quesera’. The acid curd required, due to its lack of consistency, a more closed container than the ‘barreña’ -through whose holes it could be drained – therefore, a cloth was more favourable. The curd obtained by acidification and small amounts of rennet, on the other hand, was compact enough to be dried in the ‘barreña’.

For both types of cheese moulding, there are different ripening times. The first seven or eight days, it gives rise to a fresher cheese called ‘cuayau’, with hardly any crust.

In the central area of Asturias, in the surroundings of Sierra del Aramo, fresh cheese was mixed with paprika, producing the so-called ‘cuayau roxu’.

On other occasions, the cheeses were cured somewhere ventilated and sheltered such as an ‘hórreo’ (traditional Asturian construction supported by columns that served to store grains and other agricultural products) or the house gallery for three or four months. The cured product was a dry and hard cheese, with little crust and a whitish hue.

All these peculiarities in the cheese elaboration, which were developed over time, gave rise to a unique product with four traditional varieties, differentiating these, only in the red or white colour, according to whether paprika had been added or not, and in the shape obtained, according to the moulding system used; ‘atroncau’ being the one moulded in the ‘barreña’ and ‘trapu’ the one which was moulded in cloth.

The climatic conditions of the delimited territory are defined by persistent and mild rain (‘orbayu’ or drizzle), high clouds, low sunlight and moderate thermal fluctuations with mild temperatures.

As for the composition of the soil, it is an area of a slightly acidic nature (pH 6.9-6.5), and with a high content of organic matter, which allows a natural diversity in the pastures, with the meadows presenting the greatest diversity of botanical composition, in species of agronomic interest.

These climatic and soil characteristics are shown in the product through the basis of animal feeding, the key of dairy production.

Due to this diversity, the dairy production of the area is very abundant. In addition to its high quality, it presents a determined composition, especially with regard to fatty and organic acids, which are developed into specific organoleptic characteristics in the final product.

The climatic conditions of the area also influence the development of the cheese making process itself, adapting the time-consuming coagulation, draining and ripening to these specific climatological characteristics of the area (high humidity and mild temperatures), which contributes to its special texture.

As for the topography of the area, there are steep slopes located within the short distance between the coast and the watershed, which may give rise to two well-defined spaces.

These characteristics have led these areas to the orientation towards livestock production, as a means to get the most out of the excellent natural resources in the steepest lands, which are therefore less suitable for agricultural activity, and of the wide plains in the valleys crossed by Nalón, Narcea rivers and their tributaries.

The mountainous landscape meant that historically, communications were difficult, so self-sufficiency was promoted, favouring spontaneous acidifications in the surplus milk, which would evolve to the acid coagulation cheese that we know today as Afuega'lPitu.